


The Devil You Know

by Animeangel1798



Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Aphrodisiacs, M/M, Rape Recovery, Sexual Slavery, Shiki and Izaya don't fuck until Izaya is more stable mentally, Tags and Characters to be added, cuz like, not as dark as you might think, otherwise that's just not realistic, shiki rescues Izaya, slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-26 16:55:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19009936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Animeangel1798/pseuds/Animeangel1798
Summary: “How long has it been?”“Two years.”Izaya closes his eyes and rests his head back against the seat. That’s so long. He wonders how many people cared? Shinra? His sisters? Maybe even his parents? He has no idea.





	The Devil You Know

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is actually an idea I've had for over a year and I've actually had half this chapter written for a long time but I finally got around to finishing it! I hope you enjoy! And no, there will be none of the 'magical healing dick'* trope in this story. I will try to keep Izaya as in character as possible as well. Thank you to the lovely Bad_Romance for helping beta this story so it flows better. <3
> 
> *(For those unaware: Magical healing dick trope is when a character experiences a huge trauma {rape for example] and the other character makes them feel so much better by fucking them *so they know what it's like to consent* or etc. I'm not saying that would never help anybody but it's just too prevalent in fanfics and I just don't like it.

Sometimes Izaya wonders if he’ll be stuck doing this forever. He’s almost always gagged tight with a rubber ball and blinded with a soft and thick black blindfold. He sits passively while his hands are dragged over his head and his wrists are tied tight with rough rope to what feels like a pole when he wraps his fingers around it. Hands on his hips force him down onto a large dildo and his legs are pulled up and apart before being tied as well. He's forced to either sink onto the dildo or hold himself up with his hands. He'd been prepared beforehand so there isn't much pain, Izaya is used to it after all this time.

 

Izaya has no idea how long he's been gone, the days blur together and he tries not to think about it too often. He'd been taken and sold by a gang with a grudge. They’d gotten lucky and he was sold quickly to two men who set Izaya and many others as acts in their private theater. Customers came to watch people get fucked. Sometimes there were volunteer performers but most of the time the theater owners sent out people they’d bought and turned into toys. Unfortunately, Izaya is a rather popular act. Between performances Izaya is usually locked in a tiny room with no windows. His bed is a small cot shoved to one wall.

 

He felt the usual sting of a needle and knew that within moments he'd be under the influence of a strong aphrodisiac, his senses would heighten, and his mind would cloud. Izaya both dreaded and craved the needle. More often than not that craving won out, with the aphrodisiac he didn't have to remember why he shouldn't want this, he could just surrender to the pleasure and hate himself later.

 

The drug is already working it’s magic and Izaya welcomes the haze with a moan. A soft laugh sounds from his side.

 

"There's your fix. Today is special, you aren't allowed to cum unless the audience votes for it."

 

Calloused hands trace over his spread-open thighs and Izaya whimpers.

 

"If you can't control yourself then we'll open up the stage for whoever wants a go at you. You remember how that worked out last time~"

 

A shudder runs up his spine at the memory and his master laughs again.

 

"That drug we gave you will keep you happy no matter what happens but if you don't want to get fucked by everybody in this building I suggest you hold off."

 

Izaya furrows his brow. It’s a crude but effective hyperbole. A leather collar closes around his neck.

 

"Make it a good show for us sweetheart~ we have some important customers out there tonight."

 

And with that Izaya is left alone to collect himself before the show. Izaya takes a deep breath and relaxes into the floaty feeling. He used to fight it as hard as he could, but he quickly figured out that it was better to just give in, at least then he doesn’t have to worry about his situation until later. For today, he’s determined to keep from cumming. He can hear the ‘customers’ moving and whispering but they can't see him yet, there's a curtain kept in place around the stage until everyone is seated.

 

The aphrodisiac is taking over his system and soon enough he's rock hard and squirming on the dildo impatiently. Izaya bites down on the gag to distract himself from the heat ravaging his insides. Soon enough he hears footsteps in front of the curtain.

 

"We have a special game with Psyche tonight~"

 

Izaya grimaces slightly, he's never liked the fake name they gave him, he tunes out the rest of his introduction and the explanations for the audience, all he's waiting for is the sound of the curtain opening. The footsteps retreat and there's a moment of silence before the curtain pulls aside and Izaya's confronted with a scattering of cheers and cat-calls. His face flushes and his cock twitches at the attention. he hates that they've trained his body to react this way.

 

Izaya can feel the heat from the stage lights on his skin and he shivers. Nothing happens for a long moment and just as he's wondering what he's supposed to do, usually he’s not just left to his own devices like this, vibrations start in his ass and he jolts with a moan, heat rushes up his spine and he barely hears the appreciative sounds from the audience. Izaya writhes as the vibrations spread deep inside him, nearly sobbing as the pleasure centers in on his prostate. His fingers scrape at the pole and he lifts himself up as far as he can from the intense vibrations.

 

It hurts his arms to hold himself up this way but if he doesn't... It's a clever setup. He can't lift himself high enough to completely escape the toy, but it's not pressed to his prostate anymore, so it gives him a bit of a reprieve. Izaya holds himself up as long as he can before the strain on his muscles becomes too much and he has to let go. Immediately he moans and squirms as the vibrations shoot pleasure through him. This is torture, he wants to just let himself go but Izaya doesn't want the punishment. This is going to be a bad night.

 

\--

 

Shiki looks around the small theater and sighs, he doesn’t particularly want to be here, but he was invited by an important client, so he couldn’t refuse. His client, Akita Fujimoji, was a short man with an eccentric attitude but he had useful information, so Shiki put up with him, he was far from surprised that the man had no shame about his fetishes.

 

“Fujimoji-san, about our deal?”

 

Fujimoji waved his question off, his eyes were trained on the stage even though the curtain was still in place.

 

“Business later, pleasure first.”

 

Shiki gave the man an unamused look, but he was ignored. He holds in a sigh and checks his watch, it’s only 9 p.m. but Shiki doesn’t want to be here any longer than he needed. He’s about to protest again but a man walks onto the stage, so Shiki holds his tongue.

 

“We have a special game with Psyche tonight~ As most of you know Psyche is one of our star pets. Tonight, you all get a vote, if the majority votes yes before an hour passes Psyche is allowed to cum without punishment. If he cums before permission has been given, he gets punished. Under each of your chairs is a remote with a single button. Only press it if you think he should be allowed to cum. You can only vote once.”

 

There’s a general murmur of excitement through the crowd and Fujimoji eagerly digs for his remote. Shiki grabs his too at his client’s urging. Before the man can leave the stage, somebody speaks up from the crowd.

 

“What’s his punishment if he can’t last?”

 

The theater owner gives them all a wicked smirk.

 

“I’ll keep that a secret for now.”

 

And then he leaves. Shiki sighs at all the theatrics and resigns himself to an unpleasant evening. The lights dim, and the curtain opens revealing a black-haired boy. Shiki gives him a cursory glance, taking in Psyche’s arms tied to a pole and legs spread wide, the boy has a nice body for sure, but Shiki’s not interested in toys. By his side Fujimoji lets out a soft moan and Shiki ignores him.

 

Psyche is flushed and hard, but nothing seems to be happening until suddenly his body jolts and a moan escapes past the gag. Stage mics pick up the noise and it travels through the theater easily. There’s various sounds of appreciation from the crowd as Psyche writhes on the toy, clearly getting close to his limit quickly.

 

Shiki raises his eyebrow as the boy’s fingers close around the pole and he pulls himself up, the strain on his arms is obvious but it’s his only chance of reprieve. Psyche’s arms get more and more shaky before eventually he has to let go, another moan filters out to the theater and Psyche can’t seem to sit still on the toy. Shiki has to admit he makes quite a sight.

 

Fujimoji moans again.

 

“Psyche is their best act for sure. He’s the only reason I keep spending money in this place.”

 

Shiki keeps his emotions off his face but inside he’s frowning. He really doesn’t care what gets Fujimoji off. He’s still thinking of a proper reply to that when the theater owner makes another appearance. He curls his fingers through Psyche’s hair and addresses the audience.

 

“We haven’t gotten many votes yet, which is fine, but I think we should give sweet Psyche here a chance to plead his case, don’t you?”

 

In other words: Make Psyche beg them. A short cheer goes up and the owner takes off Psyche’s gag.

 

“Let them know what you want, convince them you deserve it.”

 

Psyche stills with a whimper before he lets his voice out.

 

“Please!”

 

The voice is strained, and the words come out slurred but for some reason it sparks something in Shiki’s brain. That voice sounds familiar… a frown works its way onto his face.

 

Once again Psyche is pulling himself up by his arms, gasping out pleading words all the while. Every word that falls from the boy’s lips sends a spark of recognition through Shiki, but he can’t quite place it. He narrows his eyes and tries to concentrate.

 

On stage Psyche drops down again with a broken moan before struggling to pull himself back up. It’s a cruel cycle that he can’t keep up forever but it’s fascinating to watch his body strain to stay in the air and then relax as he drops back down. Psyche is effectively fucking himself in the most drawn out manner.

 

Shiki decides to just press his button and set it aside, the faster Psyche can cum the sooner Shiki can leave. There’s still that odd feeling of recognition that he just can’t place but he decides it’s not important enough to focus on, instead he just enjoys the show.

 

Psyche isn’t able to hold himself up for more than a couple of seconds at this point but it’s obvious he’s trying. There’s no telling what the punishment might be, but Shiki has his suspicions that Psyche must know, otherwise he’d seem less desperate.

 

“Ohhh please! I- I need to cum!!”

 

Psyche begs, trying and failing to lift himself again. The boy lets out a ragged sob, but he has to rest his arms. He writhes, at the mercy of the vibrations, and finally the theater owner comes back out. He takes a minute to run his fingers through Psyche’s hair.

 

“Psyche received enough votes, and there’s still 20 minutes left. Give him a cheer if you want the blindfold off when he cums.”

 

Immediately the crowd responds, cheers and wolf-whistles ringing out around Shiki. The theater owner grins and whispers in Psyche’s ear before pulling off the blindfold. Psyche blinks his eyes open, face flushed and desperate and the crowd goes wild as the vibrator drives Psyche over the edge.

 

Shiki’s eyes widen as he sees Psyche’s face, it’s a face he hasn’t seen in over two years.

 

“Izaya…”

 

His words are drowned out by the excitable audience but there’s no mistaking that face. Things just got a lot more complicated. He watches as Izaya is gagged and blindfolded once more before being untied and eased off the vibrator. He lays limp in what Shiki now knows is his captor’s arms. Shiki decides then and there that he can’t just let Izaya rot here like this, not now that he knows.

 

He stands up, mutters an excuse to Fujimoji, and heads to the door leading backstage. If he can make a deal with Izaya’s captors it’ll be the ideal scenario, but he doesn’t hold much hope for that. All Shiki knows is he can’t leave things this way if he can help it.

 

\--

 

Izaya is still shuddering from aftershocks when he's thrown onto his tiny bed. He sits still while his ankles are re-chained, and the gag is removed. Fingers run through his hair.

 

"You put on a good show tonight, I might consider making that a regular act for you. Not too often though, wouldn't want any muscle build up to ruin that pretty figure."

 

Hands run along his arms and Izaya shivers, wishing he could be left alone but he's in no position to complain. His master stays to pet him for a while longer before he has to go get the next act ready.

 

"I'll send Haku in to deal with you."

 

Izaya nods and with one last stroke to his hair he's left alone. As the door closes and locks Izaya sighs in relief, tugging the thin blanket over his body. The drugs haven't worn off yet, but they will soon but for now he enjoys the numbness in his thoughts. Soon enough the door opens but he doesn't look up as it closes and locks again. He hears soft footsteps and a sigh.

 

"I need to look you over."

 

Izaya frowns and pulls the blanket tighter around him. It's not that Haku is a bad person, he's trapped here just as surely as the rest of them, but it's always Haku who sees to him after his shows and he can't help associating the other man with bad memories. Haku used to be a physician before he was sold, he was given the offer of taking care of the other captors or being used on stage as well. Haku had more privileges than any of them but Izaya couldn't hold that against him. Haku is a short man who doesn't look much older than Izaya, he has short brown hair and sometimes Haku reminds Izaya of Shinra so much that it aches.

 

Gentle hands pried the blanket away from his head and untied the blindfold, taking care to cover Izaya's eyes as it was removed so he wouldn't be overwhelmed by the lights.

 

"Are you in pain anywhere?"

 

Izaya sighs, brushing Haku's hand away and blinking to get used to the brightness.

 

"No, but the drugs they gave me haven't worn off so just because I don't feel hurt doesn't mean much."

 

Haku nods, keeping his face neutral. Izaya's always appreciated Haku's professionalism; it's obvious that he pities Izaya, but he never lets it show on his face.

 

"Let me see your arms."

 

He holds out his arms for Haku who keeps his touches gentle as he looks over the fresh bruises left by the rope.

 

"These might take a while to heal, go easy on your wrists as much as you can."

 

He grabs some lotion from his bag.

 

"This will help a little, make sure to put it on every morning."

 

Izaya nods, tucking the lotion under his pillow so he won't lose it. Haku checks his lips and jaw next, sometimes the gag is rough on him, but everything seems to be okay this time. Haku gives him some chapstick to put on just in case. There's a moment of silence as Izaya uses the chapstick and hands it back. There's really only one more place to be looked at and Haku gives him an apologetic look.

 

"Is there anything else I should look at besides..."

 

Izaya shakes his head and doesn't protest as Haku eases the blanket off and pulls on some rubber gloves. Izaya hides his face with his arms. It won't hurt, Haku is always gentle as can be, but with the drugs in his system he won't be able to control it if he gets an erection. He bites his tongue as Haku checks inside him, looking for tears or anything else of concern.

 

"You're okay."

 

As the fingers are pulled out Izaya winces slightly and uncovers his face. Haku removes his gloves and throws them in the trash.

 

"You're lucky this time, I heard about the conditions of your act, the next audience might not be so kind."

 

The former informant sighs.

 

"There's not much I can do about that."

 

Haku nods, face carefully neutral.

 

"I know. Hopefully if they make you do that again they'll choose a different punishment."

 

He remembers last time they used that particular punishment and a shudder runs up his spine, it's not a pleasant memory.

 

"Hopefully."

 

He pulls the blanket tight around his body again.

 

"Anything else?"

 

Haku bites his lip and looks away guiltily.

 

"I'm supposed to give you something, they called it a reward..."

 

Izaya tenses at that and lets out a shaky sigh, of course he wouldn't just be left alone after that.

 

"What... is it?"

 

Haku doesn't say anything just pulls a chastity cage and an egg vibrator out of his bag.

 

"What kind of reward do they have in mind?"

 

Izaya asks bitterly and Haku sighs.

 

"From what I heard, you're most likely being sent to their room tonight."

 

He'd know this was coming from the moment Haku said reward, but he still shivers at the confirmation, he's been to the master bedroom several times and he always left aching and miserable. Izaya closes his eyes and takes a deep breath but he can't help the way his body trembles under the blanket.

 

"Go ahead then..."

 

If Izaya refuses they both get punished, it's better to just do as told. Haku nods and Izaya lets him pull the blanket away again. Izaya closes his eyes and grits his teeth as Haku inserts the egg vibe. It's not very big but it settles right against his prostate and once it's turned on it's going to be hell. Next Haku fits him into the metal chastity cage, it's cold against his skin and Izaya hisses under his breath. Haku doesn't acknowledge it.

 

Once Haku is done he covers Izaya in the blanket again.

 

"I don't have the remote for the egg, so I assume one of them has it. Good luck, Orihara. I'll visit you again when they're done with you."

 

Izaya nods, dread welling in his gut. He might not like Haku being here but at least he's a pleasant companion. When Haku is checking his injuries he's left alone, if Haku says he's too injured to 'play' he's left alone. He'd never try to convince Haku to lie for him though, if the lie was discovered there's no telling what the punishment would be. Izaya wouldn’t want to lose the closest thing to a friend he has in this place. Haku lingers a little longer just to give Izaya more time but eventually he has to leave, there are others to see to.

 

"See you later tonight."

 

"See you later, Haku."

 

Haku ties his blindfold back on and heads to the door. Haku knocks to be let out and the door opens then shuts and Izaya is alone. He takes a shaky breath and tries to get comfortable but with the toys on and inside him and the knowledge of what's going to happen later tonight he knows he won't be able to. It's times like these that he wonders if this life is even worth living but the thought of death scares him even more than his masters. He feels around under his pillow for the lotion and rubs it into his bruises before putting the bottle back.

 

Just as he's finished the egg vibrates hard inside him and he whimpers, shuddering as pleasure rolls through him. The cage keeps him from getting fully hard, this is going to be torment.

 

\--

 

It doesn’t take long for Shiki to find the man who runs the place but he is surprised that the man seems to know who he is.

 

“Shiki-san! What can I do for you?”

 

Shiki nods as greeting.

 

“I was wondering if I could discuss something with you.”

 

The man smirks and leads the way into a nearby room, closing the door behind them. He gestures for Shiki to have a seat and, once he does the man launches into a well rehearsed speech.

 

“I assume you want to buy one of our acts, it’s not uncommon but the price depends on which one.”

 

There’s a greedy, self-satisfied gleam in his eyes and Shiki nearly sneers in disgust. It’s better to end this as peacefully as possible however. He doesn’t beat around the bush, just gets straight to the point.

 

“How much for Psyche?”

 

There’s a noticeable change in the man’s demeanor.

 

“Ah… That one’s a special case. He’s not fully trained and would be much more wild than you’re prepared for. How about I introduce you to some of our more submissive toys?”

 

Shiki raises his eyebrow, visibly unimpressed.

 

“I’m not willing to compromise on this. Any ‘training’ that needs provided I am more than capable of handling.”

 

Izaya will need to see a therapist, right after he sees a doctor. It’s disturbing to think of all the damage that will need to be repaired. The man shifts, obviously uncomfortable and Shiki narrows his eyes.

 

“Is there some reason you’re reluctant to let him go?”

 

The man sighs, giving Shiki a shrewd look.

 

“If you’re really that interested I’ll show you. Once you see you’ll agree that someone else would be better.”

 

He stands and Shiki follows.

 

\--

 

Izaya writhes on the bed, arching his hips repeatedly in a desperate attempt to move the vibrator away from his prostate. It doesn’t work, it just makes everything worse, but he can’t stop. The only lucky thing is that the drug wore off not that long ago, although that means his thoughts are left clear enough that despite the constant pleasure he hates every minute of it.

 

He’s left with too many emotions; pleasure, pain, fear of how he’ll be treated tonight, it’s hell. He whines, arching again with a sob as he’s forced into a dry orgasm right before the door opens. He whimpers softly and pulls the blanket tight around him, his master’s voice too loud from the doorway.

 

“Psyche, I hope you’re enjoying your gift.”

 

Izaya grits his teeth and stays silent and still. He’s still desperate to move and release some of his built up tension but he refuses to react in front of these people unless forced. His master laughs lightly, coming further into the room. There are a second set of footsteps too and Izaya’s brow furrows. It’s unusual for them to come get him together unless… 

 

He remembers when he was first brought here, after a month a man was brought into his room. He’d wanted to buy Izaya and had asked for a “test drive” Izaya had bitten him hard enough to leave lasting damage. Afterwards people weren’t brought to his room anymore but he’d received an extremely harsh punishment.

 

His blood runs cold at the thought, he must have been too obedient lately. They think he’s given up. He takes a shaky breath and prepares himself mentally to not only fight back but receive another punishment.

 

_ ‘Better the Devil you know’ _

 

He reminds himself as footsteps approach the bed. His master speaks.

 

“Psyche is one of our top acts here but for the right price we’d be less reluctant to part with him. Unfortunately he’s a bit of a fighter.”

 

A hand fists in Izaya’s hair and Izaya hisses in pain as his head is yanked at an awkward angle.

 

“The last time a person tried to buy him he caused permanent damage and we had to pay the hospital bills but, if you think you can tame him be our guest.”

 

There’s definite amusement in his master’s voice when he finishes the sentence and Izaya nearly rolls his eyes. The other footsteps come closer.

 

“I’m sure he’ll behave, I can be very persuasive.”

 

Comes a silky smooth voice and Izaya almost jolts as he recognizes it. Shiki? He doubts himself instantly, it can’t be him right? No. Shiki wouldn’t be at a place like this and he certainly wouldn’t be trying to buy someone… Still, his world is thrown off balance a little. His master hums condescendingly.

 

“Well, if you can show me he’ll listen to you I’ll let you buy him.”

 

But he sounds extremely doubtful. A weight settles on the edge of the bed and Izaya scoots away a bit but the stranger 

 

_ ‘Not Shiki. Do not get your hopes up’ _

 

Grabs his chin and leans in close. Izaya assumes he’s going for his lips or neck and prepares to struggle or bite but then lips trace over his ear and the man speaks very softly against it.

 

“Don’t say anything, don’t fight. I’m going to get you out of here Izaya. We’ll need to play along for now.”

 

And Izaya’s heart skips a beat. There’s no mistaking it after all. This… this has to be a dream right? He swallows hard and subtly pinches himself but he definitely feels it. Shiki’s lips are still tracing over his ear lightly, clearly hesitant to do much else till he’s sure Izaya understands the situation.

 

Honestly, Izaya isn’t sure how to feel. On one hand, Shiki found him, he’s going to get out of this hell hole. On the other hand… he’ll have to let Shiki fuck him and act like he enjoys it or he’ll never get out of here. It’s not like it’ll be hard to pretend, Shiki’s attractive and he’ll be gentle about it if the way he’s treated him so far is anything to go by. It’ll just be something they get out of the way and move on from.

 

Izaya takes a shaky breath and arches into Shiki, letting him know it’s okay to move on. The vibe is still going and now that he’s not terrified of being sold it’s starting to become a priority of his focus.

 

Shiki’s lips trail to Izaya’s neck, nipping and sucking at the skin as his hands trace down to pull the blanket out of the way. Izaya shiver’s in to cold as Shiki’s motion’s stop, obviously noticing the cock cage.

 

“Any other surprises?”

 

He asks Izaya’s master.

 

“Just an egg vibrator.”

 

Comes the airy reply but there’s an edge to his voice, likely he’s confused over Izaya not pushing Shiki away. Shiki’s hands clench tight on Izaya’s skin for a moment and Izaya can tell he’s unhappy with that. He frowns, wondering for the first time if Shiki will be able to go through with this.

 

Shiki isn’t a bad person but he’d definitely have trouble forcing himself on someone, especially someone he isn’t attracted to. And, well, if Izaya had thought he might have been once but that was proven wrong years before he was kidnapped. All of his flirting fell flat so he’d stopped. And now it’s come to this.

 

Gentle hands trace down his body sending pleasant tingles up his spine and he shudders, biting back a moan. He still needs to come, he’s desperate for it really. Shiki’s finger’s find his entrance and rub at it gently before a single finger slides inside. Izaya’s breath hitches and he arches his back into the feeling.

 

Before long Shiki is massaging his insides with three fingers and Izaya has lost all control of his noises, gasps and moans falling past his lips unhindered. Shiki is extremely good with his hands and the way he keeps pushing the toy against Izaya’s prostate nearly makes Izaya sob with the need to come.

 

By the time Shiki eases off the cock cage Izaya is begging to come, a wail tearing from his throat as Shiki presses hard on the vibe and strokes his cock at the same time. That’s all it takes to send Izaya over the edge and he whimpers and shudders through the aftershocks of the best orgasm he’s ever had while not drugged.

 

Shiki pulls his fingers out gently and pulls Izaya into his lap, covering him with the blanket once more.

 

“Not exactly as feisty as you said he’d be.”

 

Shiki points out and Izaya might have taken offence to it at one point but right now he needs to sell the act so he just curls into Shiki for warmth, fingers clenched tight in his shirt.

 

“You aren’t going to fuck him?”

 

Izaya also wants to know the answer to that actually. Shiki sighs, hand stroking gently over Izaya’s hair.

 

“No, not in front of an audience at least.”

 

His master lets out a disappointed hum.

 

“Well, I guess we trained him better than I thought… 100,000 yen and he’s yours.”

 

He sighs, clearly still reluctant to let Izaya go. Shiki hums.

 

“I’ll have the money to you by the morning. We’ll be going now. Does he have any clothes or belongings?”

 

His master laughs lightly.

 

“Well, I never thought I’d have to pull them out of storage but we have what he was wearing when we bought him.”

 

Izaya tenses immediately, that’s news to him. Shiki rubs his back to calm him down.

 

“What outfit?”

 

There’s an audible smirk in his master’s voice.

 

“Definitely not anything comfortable of decent, want me to send someone to get it?”

 

Shiki’s arms tighten around him.

 

“No, I’ll take him home like this.”

 

Hands pull off Izaya’s blindfold, finally, and Izaya flinches lightly as the light assaults his vision. Shiki gives him a concerned look but Izaya ignores it. His master gives him a smirk.

 

“You’ll have to bring him back by sometime and let him have some fun on stage every now and then. You’ll get a cut of the profits, of course.”

 

Shiki frowns.

 

“No, I’m a little too possessive for that.”

 

His master sighs, clearly disappointed.

 

“Fine, fine. He’s clean of any diseases and healthy as can be expected so you should have no problems with him. Good luck Shiki-san.”

 

Shiki nods and shrugs off his jacket to drape over Izaya’s shoulders. Izaya keeps his lower half wrapped in the blanket as Shiki picks him up with surprising ease. He’s reeling from how much things have changed in such a short amount of time.

 

As Shiki carries him out into the hall Izaya manages to catch Haku’s eye. Haku doesn’t hesitate to step in front of them, giving Shiki a glare.

 

“Who are you?”

 

Shiki raises his eyebrow.

 

“Who needs to know?”

 

Haku is just trying to help of course but he’s delaying Izaya’s rescue.

 

“Haku. Don’t worry about it.”

 

He says lowly and Haku’s eyes widen slightly before he gives Shiki an assessing look, clearly catching onto what’s going on, and steps aside.

 

“Don’t let him get caught up in this kind of stuff again.”

 

Haku hisses before walking away. Shiki looks after him before giving Izaya a look. Izaya sighs.

 

“I’ll explain later.”

 

Shiki nods and carries him outside. Soon enough he’s settled into Shiki’s car and can let himself relax. He still half expects himself to wake up any second and this to be fake but it just keeps going on longer and longer. If this is a dream it’s a particularly cruel one.

 

Shiki clears his throat after a long silence.

 

“It’s good to see you again Orihara, though I wish it was under more fortuitous circumstances.”

 

Izaya laughs bitterly, curling into himself.

 

“Well, I can’t say I disagree.”

 

Then he sighs, suddenly exhausted. He doesn’t have the energy to banter.

 

“... Thank you.”

 

He says softly and Shiki gives him an unreadable look.

 

“I couldn’t have just left you there, not after I knew it was you.”

 

Izaya shrugs.

 

“How long has it been?”

 

“Two years.”

 

Izaya closes his eyes and rests his head back against the seat. That’s so long. He wonders how many people cared? Shinra? His sisters? Maybe even his parents? He has no idea.

 

“Am I considered missing or dead?”

 

Shiki sighs.

 

“Missing, officially but unofficially you’re considered dead by most of the city.”

 

Izaya nods, that’s understandable though a little crushing.

 

“Fine. I’ll just have to work my way to the top again.”

 

Shiki gives him a frown.

 

“Is that wise, given what happened?”

 

Izaya looks away, uncomfortable with the question.

 

“I don’t know.”


End file.
